Tehran, Iran, Sept. 16
Trend:
An Iranian official in the province of East Azarbaijan said the country is exporting raisins to 20 countries.
“The raisins produced in the county of Malekan (in East Azarbaijan province) are being exported to 20 countries, including Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and Persian Gulf littoral states,” Mohammad Baqer Khani, the governor of Malekan, told IRNA on September 16.
He added that the grape growers in Malekan harvest 260,000 tons of grapes every year, 90 percent of which are used to make raisins.
Annually, grapes and raisins worth $250 million are exported to other countries, Khani said.
According to the Federation of Iranian Food Associations, Iran exported 96,000 tons of raisins worth $153 million in the last Iranian year (March 2017-18), registering a decrease of 29 percent and 46 percent in tonnage and value respectively compared to the year before.